Backed by over half a century of experience, Cornacloy Construction is one of Connacht’s premier building contractors, delivering a full range of residential and commercial solutions throughout the greater Leitrim / Sligo region. Building Ireland caught up with office manager Michael O’Hara to find out more about this standard-setting, industry-leading operation.
Synonymous with excellence and dependability, Glenfarne, County Leitrim-based Cornacloy Construction boasts a proven track record for delivering a wide array of projects to programme, invariably achieving absolute client satisfaction. Covering everything from one-off houses to schools, churches, warehouses, factories and sportsgrounds, Cornacloy is a diverse and flexible construction company that takes every project in its stride, be it a new build on a greenfield site, refurb or extension.
Vast experience and expertise are brought to bear on every job undertaken, MD Felix McHugh having worked in the construction industry for 50 years and counting. Felix has assembled an outstanding, motivated, dedicated team of professionals around him, comprising twelve directly-employed tradesmen in addition to a tried-and-trusted team of subcontractors who meet the same exacting standards for which Cornacloy Construction is renowned.
“Felix has worked in the building trade for 50 years and is well known all over Leitrim and Sligo and beyond,” office manager Michael O’Hara confirms. “He has been in business as Cornacloy since 2017 but traded as Felix McHugh for many years prior to that. He really does have vast experience of construction, having worked as a block layer as a youngster and remained involved in building ever since.”
Whether its new builds or renovations, residential or commercial, there is always strong demand for Cornacloy Construction’s services. At the time of writing, they were busy on an assortment of projects locally: “At the moment, we’re working on three one-off houses – new builds – and also a total renovation of and large extension onto an existing house,” says Michael. “We’ve also just completed work on the local Mercy Convent in Sligo and have done several church renovations. We completed a large renovation of Manorhamilton Credit Union, where they bought the old Ulster Bank next door, gutted and renovated it and joined the two buildings together.
“As well as that, we built three warehouses at Collooney Business Park and did a retrofit of the home economics room at Our Lady of Mercy Primary School in Sligo. We renovated homes for Sophia Housing Association, who provide sheltered housing and have also worked on The Alzheimer Society’s building in Sligo, adapting it for wheelchair access and completely gutting and refurbishing the bathrooms.”
Some other recently-completed works include an extension at Bee Park Community & Recreational Centre in Manorhamilton, new dressing-rooms for Glencar Manorhamilton GAA and a range of work at St John’s National School, Sligo, including three retrofitted classrooms, roof upgrades and new windows.
In keeping with the trend towards sustainability and environmental awareness, Michael points out that a lot of projects these days incorporate renewable energy systems. Green energy has become a huge consideration and Cornacloy is a registered contractor with the SEAI. To this end, an air-to-water heat system has been installed in St Columba’s Church, Drumcliffe (famed as the final resting place of WB Yeats) in conjunction with the construction of a new log cabin for tourists.
“We’ve worked on heating systems on every church in the Glenfarne, Manorhamilton and Kiltyclogher area,” Michael continues. “There are six churches in that region and we also did Riverstown Church in Sligo, Ballintrillick National School in Sligo and St Clare’s National School, Manorhamilton (classroom and toilet refurbs).”
Meanwhile, Cornacloy Construction carried out classroom extensions and / or replaced boilers and upgraded the heating systems at Glencar National School, Masterson National School in Manorhamilton, Scoil Ursula NS in Strandhill and Lough Allen College, Drumkeeran.
With the best tradesmen at their disposal, Cornacloy are perfectly placed to provide outstanding workmanship every time… “David McDermott is our foreman and you couldn’t ask for a better man to oversee projects. He’s a top-class tradesman and he insists on the best. We have twelve of our own in-house staff, including our own electrician, plumber and carpenters. We only subcontract work to proven companies – Abbey Insulation, Connacht Asphalt for felt roofing, GG Roofing for zinc and copper roofing, Tricel Septic Tanks, Gregory Timoney Windows and Munster Joinery.
“And we also insist on quality suppliers. Brooks Hanley is our biggest supplier of materials and we use Trotter Concrete and Kerrigans for concrete and stone, both of whom are reliable local companies.”
Without needing to advertise, Cornacloy Construction benefits from a steady stream of work in the Leitrim / Sligo catchment area through both repeat business and positive referrals. “We enjoy good relationships with architects, who are happy with our previous work, so a lot of them come back to us again and also recommend us to customers,” the affable office manager confirms.
“We take on a nice mix of commercial work, factories and warehouses, and one-off domestic builds. We’re also on a maintenance contract with Bruss Ireland in Sligo.”
An unswerving insistence on high quality is at the heart of everything Cornacloy Construction does. “What the customer wants, they will get,” Michael promises. “If they want a stunning finish, they will get it, but if they need something more practical, we can do that, too. We build a lot of prestigious, high-end homes and Manorhamilton Credit Union is a very beautiful commercial project with a lot of detail and a striking finish.
“I’ve worked in the trade all my life, including a spell in Germany, and I can honestly say that the standard here is extremely high and Felix has exceptional tradesmen. I appreciate a good quality finish and Cornacloy Construction are top bracket.
“Clients are always satisfied and when architects keep coming back it speaks for itself. We have a good supply chain and only bring in top subcontractors to ensure that everything is perfect. And, on the rare occasion that something does go wrong, we will go straight back, no questions asked, and put it right. We stand over all of our work and this is reflected in the lasting relationships we’ve built up over the years.”
Cornacloy Construction,
Cornacloy,
Glenfarne,
County Leitrim.
Tel: 087 7750711
Email: [email protected]
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, November 2020, Vol 6 No 6
